April 09, 2013 08:58 PM CDTApril 09, 2013 08:58 PM CDTMoore: Dallas Cowboys will go for ‘best available athlete’ in the draft, with a caveat…

Moore: Dallas Cowboys will go for ‘best available athlete’ in the draft, with a caveat…

3/13

Gerry Broome/AP

The skinny on Jonathan Coooper: Four-year starter at North Carolina who earned consensus AP All-American honors as a senior / Bales’ take: Cooper is hands down the best pulling guard I’ve ever studied. He’s listed at 6’3’’, 310 pounds, although there’s a good chance he weighs closer to his college playing weight of 300 or so. Cooper uses his “lean” frame to move with ease to the second level of defenses. He’s as agile as any interior lineman I’ve seen, dashing across the field and having the athleticism to move with linebackers. When Cooper is on the move, he’s at his best.

Dallas Cowboys beat writer David Moore answered reader questions during a live chat on Tuesday. Here are some highlights:

Will the Cowboys target needs or draft the best available athletes in the draft?

David Moore: Owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jason Garrett have said they believe they have covered themselves enough at key spots where they can enter this draft and focus strictly on the best available athlete over need. That may be true, but so is this: if the Cowboys have a guard, a quarterback and an inside linebacker all rated on the same plateau when they are on the clock at No. 18, their need for an offensive lineman will break the tie and persuade them to select the guard with that pick. I would argue clubs also delude themselves at bit on this best player available scale. If a player at a position a team doesn't need is rated even slightly ahead of a player at a position of need, I bet most clubs can argue why it makes sense to go with the lesser player. Of course, the more you do this the more your roster suffers over time.

How can the Boys find some luck? Is it possible that this is what they need more than anything else? It could not hurt. How do we get just a little luck?

David Moore: Luck is always part of the equation. But if you make it the primary part, you are doomed to be disappointed more times than not. Preparation, discipline and solid decision making are much more important over the long haul.

What position do you think the Cowboys will address after the draft?

David Moore: A lot of that has to do with filling out your training camp roster and getting the numbers required at certain positions to make it through the grind of two-a-days. But in general, I would expect wide receiver, tight end, running back, safety and defensive front seven to be a focus after the draft.

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